New Delhi, 07 October (H.S.): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the current financial year 2026-27 by 0.40 percentage points to 7.1 per cent, following similar upward revisions by Fitch, Moody’s, S&P and the World Bank.

Announcing the decisions of the RBI’s October bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said domestic economic activity continued to remain resilient despite global challenges. This was reflected in the 7.8 per cent economic growth recorded in the first quarter of financial year 2026-27, based on the 2022-23 base year.

Sanjay Malhotra said the Reserve Bank had raised its forecast for India’s GDP growth for the current financial year 2026-27 to 7.1 per cent. The previous projection stood at 6.7 per cent and has now been revised upwards to 7.1 per cent. However, he cautioned that geopolitical tensions prevailing globally continued to pose risks to the economic outlook.

The RBI Governor said that, taking all these factors into consideration, real GDP growth for the current financial year 2026-27 was projected at 7.1 per cent. This projection comprises growth of 7.2 per cent in the second quarter, 6.9 per cent in the third quarter and 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. Sanjay Malhotra added that the central bank had also projected GDP growth at 7.1 per cent for the first quarter of financial year 2027-28.

It is noteworthy that the World Bank has also raised its forecast for India’s GDP growth to 7.1 per cent for the current financial year. Last month, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) too raised its GDP growth projection for financial year 2026-27 to around 7 per cent. Other global rating agencies, including S&P and Fitch, have also revised their growth forecasts upwards.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar